I asked my vet that when I got my OWA because I knew NOTHING about birds & he said it is only if the Teflon starts to burn, not the food in it. He said if you put water in a teflon pot & left it until it boiled down to nothing, then the teflon will start to burn. I didn't change any of my pans & Mr. Precious has been fine. This is only what I was told, if experts on here say different then maybe you should go with what they say. I've had my bird since March of 2010.

Teflon cookware in good condition that is used properly and carefully (never preheated dry) is no risk to a bird. But all it takes is ONE time of forgetting about the water you're heating up, or ONE time of forgetting the stove was one, or ONE time of getting distracted by a phone call, a crying child, or a bird you just want to play with .... just one time for you to not have a bird to play with anymore.

I think the odds of a problem arising from teflon are quite small, but the outcome in one of those off chances is catastrophic. Why risk it for something as cheap as a pan? [Yes yes, some good pans can be rather expensive ... but those good pans aren't teflon anyway!]

Silicone cookware, as long as it really is just silicone - read the fine print - does not pose any of the same risks as teflon and as far as the best data can get us, it is perfectly safe.

For full disclosure, anyone who has been here a while may remember that I used to make the same argument that Tammy does.

It is important not to overstate issues and spread misinformation. The temperature at which teflon will release dangerous gasses is well above the temperature your pans should ever be at ... but 'should' is the key word.

I consider myself a careful and generally organized and not forgetful person, but one day I put on a (teflon) pan of water to cook some noodles. As it was warming I went back to Auggie's room and was spending some time with him ... I completely forgot and was only reminded when the smoke detector went off. The pan had boiled dry and smoke was flowing out of the kitchen.

Auggie was fine, but I consider myself VERY VERY lucky for that. That pan was well beyond the temperature at which dangerous fumes could be given off.

I am not absent minded. I am a cautious, careful, mentally healthy person. We all make really stupid mistakes from time to time. Could you live with yourself if such a stupid and easily avoidable mistake took the life of your bird, when a new pan may be only $20-30?

I'm not a big fan of some kinds of insurance, but this one's a bargain.

The Following User Says Thank You to Auggie's Dad For This Useful Post:

What about the george forman grill? I use that thing almost every day and I love it. Although it is never unattended I fear from use it can go bad? Anyone use these at all?

Noblemacaw

I haven't used my geoge forman grill in forever. (last time was when we still lived in an apartment) When we bought our own home a year and half ago, we also bought a gas grill and use it year round. I do use an electric griddle from time to time for grilled cheese, french toast, etc. I just be very careful about watching it, keeping the temp low, and I sit it as close to the stove as possible and turn on the hood fan to help draw anything up.

I found this article about silicone cookware, I had been considering purchasing some cookie sheets as a safe alternative for teflon. I'm not contridicting anyone, just putting the info out there. I imagine that the country of mfg may have some bearing on how safe this product is, we all know that some products from China has been unsafe for our pets. A Parrot for Keeps: Warning about silicone bake & cook ware

In my, & teflon's defense, I have young children in the house & do not go more than 1 foot away from the stove/oven when it's on. For me, walking away from a pot/pan would be like leaving a loaded handgun on the coffee table. I completely understand why bird owners wouldn't want to chance it. I just wanted to relate my experience in case the bird owner was in similar situation. This is my first bird EVER & I originally took him in because he needed a home. Now he is the best friend I have EVER had & I would never intentionally do anything that would make him unhappy, let alone harm him. That's why I originally posted that the poster consider more experienced advice than I could offer; but seeing that no-one else had responded, I felt compelled to offer what I had been given in writing by an Avian Veterinarian in my area.